Donkey kong returns, great game !

[rlemmon]

Is anyone playing donkey Kong country returns? I'm having a great time with this game. I'm really loving the level designs although some of them are a bit frustrating but that's to be expected with a dkc game. Interacting with  the foreground and background is a nice touch . The mine carts and rocket barrels are fun as hell to. The graphics look fantastic and do a good job immersing you in the different enviorments. I  I would give it a 10/10. This is one of the best 2D platformers I've ever played.

[severdhed]

i am looking forward to playing this.  my wife had preordered it for me, but i decided I didn't want to pay $50 for it, so i canceled th preorder.  now i'm wishing i hadn't...it looks pretty awesome.  i'll have to pick it up after Christmas.

[SNAAKE]

nope not the best. sure its "new" and controls is good but dkc2 is easily the best 2d platform ever created. returns is a decent game though. posted my thoughts on srk forums.

- little TOO "kiddy". first "boss" was so gay. that stupid frog got nothin on OG dk bosses. pirate bird boss(dk2) dropping eggs on yo ass was EVIL! with evil music n everything. not some lame jazz music.

- gets repetitive at times. og dk had water, cave, and all kinds of variety in first area. here I am just running through green jungle. at least I got to play a roller coaster stage.

- hate that stupid pig on continue checkpoint. what the fudge IS THIS? gtfo plz. dont get all cute whatever its supposed to be. I am trying to fight some baddies up in here. EVIL THINGS!

- music is too average. as least so far. even the stuff that sounds kinda good are old tracks from dk1.

- controls isnt as smooth. I am moving little slow

[hypernova]

Kiddy?  DKC games aren't exactly hardcore blood-and-guts fare.  All the DKC games are that way.

I hated the sequels to the original.  DK and Diddy.  The way it should've stayed.  But then we got Diddy and Dixie.  OK, sort of lame.  Then we get Dixie and some stupid ass oversized baby?  Now THAT'S kiddy.

No water?  So?  How exactly did DK breathe down there anyway?  I actually like the locales so far.  The mechanical levels from the first few games got away from the island experience.  I don't know if they're back, but back then, you'd spend an entire world in those stage-types.

Two player setup is fantastic.  IIRC, the others were all 1P, right?  I've been playing with my 11yo daughter.  We had gotten to world three before I decided to add Priiloader to the Wii, and during the process of de-softmodding and updating the sysmenu, managed to brick the wii.  I had to revert to a NAND from months ago, so all progress was lost.

Time trials are a little too hard.  I can't get a gold on 1-1.  Haven't bothered trying the rest.  I must be missing some time savers.  I'm trying to roll-n-jump the entire way, but it's still nearly impossible.

The pig is gay, I'll agree.  Why not another one of the Kongs?  (Maybe Funky...he's not as lame as the rest of them.  Cranky was already utilized.)

[SNAAKE]

I know they are all kiddy games but dkc2 was awesome and ultra polished in every way.

[SNAAKE]

actually dkcr is better than I thought. it gets better later on. I am still annoyed by these stupid boss fights but the game makes very good use of wiimote and lot of these levels are fun and some of the new music is good too.

Id say AS good as original dk1 if not better. totally recommended. especially if you never played dk games. you have nothing to compare it to.

[Mikezilla]

This game is AWESOME. I love it. The tidal wave level gave me some trouble, but overall, I think its a great game, I cant put it down. My sister got me a PS3 for Christmas, so I was torn between Uncharted 2, and DKCR. I was having a blast.

But yeah, Im with you guys, whats with the stupid pig? My sister and I were playing and we were like "Dude. That pig is gay." I dont really care about the bosses, Im all about the game play and level design.

Another question, is there any point in getting the KONG Letters, and the puzzle pieces, aside from the Image Gallery?! If so, thats a pretty lame incentive to collect everything.

[DaveMMR]

My sister got me a PS3 for Christmas, so I was torn between Uncharted 2, and DKCR. I was having a blast.

I'm in the same boat.  I received some great PS3 games (we've been playing Buzz! World Quiz ALL weekend - until 4am some nights; and I'm enjoying Little Big Planet as well) but I still have DKCR in the plastic and I'm chomping at the bit to play it.   Can't wait!

[Mikezilla]

My sister got me a PS3 for Christmas, so I was torn between Uncharted 2, and DKCR. I was having a blast.

I'm in the same boat.  I received some great PS3 games (we've been playing Buzz! World Quiz ALL weekend - until 4am some nights; and I'm enjoying Little Big Planet as well) but I still have DKCR in the plastic and I'm chomping at the bit to play it.   Can't wait!

Buzz World Quiz? Is that like a trivia game!? If so, Ill have to grab it, I love games like that. I have heard little big planet is great. I might have to get that too. I have too many damn games to play its ridiculous.

[DaveMMR]

My sister got me a PS3 for Christmas, so I was torn between Uncharted 2, and DKCR. I was having a blast.

I'm in the same boat.  I received some great PS3 games (we've been playing Buzz! World Quiz ALL weekend - until 4am some nights; and I'm enjoying Little Big Planet as well) but I still have DKCR in the plastic and I'm chomping at the bit to play it.   Can't wait!

Buzz World Quiz? Is that like a trivia game!? If so, Ill have to grab it, I love games like that. I have heard little big planet is great. I might have to get that too. I have too many damn games to play its ridiculous.

Without derailing thread too much:  Yeah it's a simple little quiz game with a great presentation.  Apparently, the series has been around for awhile.   You need to use the buzzers to play.  They either come with them (wireless for PS3) or you can buy the game alone and use PS2 wired buzzers (which you can find cheaply).   I wish I knew these games were such a blast - probably up there with You Don't Know Jack but a lot less difficult.   The part we're having fun with is playing online with other people.   

Back on topic:  The one thing I've been hearing about is the difficulty of DKCR (as in "fairly unfair at times").  I don't mind it so much considering I'm used to the "Nintendo Hard" days back in the late 80's.

[Malenko]

dkc2 is easily the best 2d platform ever created.

Castlevania:Symphony of the Night is the best 2D platformer ever created.


that being said, DKCR is pretty good, but as with most Wii Games, the waggle controls get old, fast.

[Howard_Casto]

dkc2 is easily the best 2d platform ever created.

Castlevania:Symphony of the Night is the best 2D platformer ever created.


that being said, DKCR is pretty good, but as with most Wii Games, the waggle controls get old, fast.

Nope sorry... if we are going to lump such wildy divergent platforming genres in together then SMB 3 is the greatest platformer of all time. 

I got this one for christmas.  I was actually suprised by the level of difficulty.  I died!  More than once!  You've got to understand.. I'm a "master platformer" and I never die on 2d platformers unless we are talking the ultra bonus rounds for the "after game".  I am enjoying it though.... a legitimate challenge is a welcome change.  Seems a little vanillia, in terms of characters/plot but at least it isn't the train-wreck (design wise) that the sequels were (sorry snaaake).

[Malenko]

Nope sorry... if we are going to lump such wildy divergent platforming genres in together then SMB 3 is the greatest platformer of all time. 

I like SMB3 a lot, but SotN is better to me. Art, plot, controls, power ups, music, etc (though props to SMB3 for teaching me what a Tanooki was) Airship? Use the P-wing. Boat? swim under it, lol.  Heck I even put Super Mario World 1 ahead of SMB3 but I have 100%'ed all of them (SMB3, SMW, SOTN) 

Being a master platformer sounds like its sucks, I'd rather have fun. You kinda sound like the guys who hit 100% notes on expert on guitar hero......too much like work for my tastes.

The only thing really memorable from DKC , was the false rumor they hid the original Donkey Kong game in it.

[Mikezilla]

Is SOTN only on PSX? If it is, I missed out on it, cause I never had a Playstation when I was a kid. I was too big a fan of Nintendo, and I didnt want to deviate from them. Stupid, but hey, I was an ignorant kid. Is there any place where I can play it? Did they re-release it on PS2 or is it on PS Network!? I just got a PS3 for Christmas. 

[DaveMMR]

Is SOTN only on PSX? If it is, I missed out on it, cause I never had a Playstation when I was a kid. I was too big a fan of Nintendo, and I didnt want to deviate from them. Stupid, but hey, I was an ignorant kid. Is there any place where I can play it? Did they re-release it on PS2 or is it on PS Network!? I just got a PS3 for Christmas. 

You can now find it on the Xbox 360 as a downloadable game and also as part of a Konami compilation also for Xbox 360.   It's also available in a Castlevania compilation for the PSP.    It was also available for the Saturn, albeit with longer load times and some graphical changes.

However, didn't see that they released it for the Playstation Network.

I'm guessing the best version, just by reading various descriptions, is possibly the original PSX version (playable on a PS3).   You can probably find it if you look hard enough, but prices may vary as it's of value to many people.

[SNAAKE]

yet another stupid boss. a robot with a chicken controlling it and the chicken is brainwashed by random...music thingys..


something like that

[Mikezilla]

Yeah yeah, the Tiki music things are retarded. I guess the Kongs are immune to them for whatever reason. I didnt know Retro Studios made that! No wonder the level design is awesome. They made the Metroid Prime series.

Did you happen to notice the homage to the orignal DK in the first level of the Ruins? You have to pound some thing, and it makes the walls fall down, and they look like the original DK holding a barrel above his head.

[Mikezilla]

Is SOTN only on PSX? If it is, I missed out on it, cause I never had a Playstation when I was a kid. I was too big a fan of Nintendo, and I didnt want to deviate from them. Stupid, but hey, I was an ignorant kid. Is there any place where I can play it? Did they re-release it on PS2 or is it on PS Network!? I just got a PS3 for Christmas. 

You can now find it on the Xbox 360 as a downloadable game and also as part of a Konami compilation also for Xbox 360.   It's also available in a Castlevania compilation for the PSP.    It was also available for the Saturn, albeit with longer load times and some graphical changes.

However, didn't see that they released it for the Playstation Network.

I'm guessing the best version, just by reading various descriptions, is possibly the original PSX version (playable on a PS3).   You can probably find it if you look hard enough, but prices may vary as it's of value to many people.

Sweet. Thank you good sir. Once I finish all my games (who knows when that will be) Ill have to DL that one. I have heard all kinds of stuff about it, and Im a Castlevania fan, so I dont know how I missed this one on Xbox Live.

[Howard_Casto]

Being a master platformer sounds like its sucks, I'd rather have fun. You kinda sound like the guys who hit 100% notes on expert on guitar hero......too much like work for my tastes.

You misunderstand..... I don't WORK at being good at platofrming games, I just am.  I'm naturally good at them.  I have no drive for perfection, it's just that most platformers (and I mean that in the truest sense of the word... games like castlevania and metroid don't really count because they are primarily weapon-based with platforming being secondary) are really easy to the point of where I never die normally.

Now that I've played the game a bit more (was busy with AC Brotherhood ) I'm liking it a tad less.  It seems that the entire game isn't hard, it's just the hard levels are thrown in at random instead of being towards the end like most games.  Seems like a bad move as there are a few frustratingly hard levels right towards the start and that could make some players give up early on.  The main problem though seems to be the easy bosses that snaaake pointed out earlier and the motion controls.  Quite frankly the motion controls are lame and the "motion" that you do doesn't make any sense.  The ground pound makes sense but then the other controls are just the same ground pound motion with a direction tacked on.  Since the roll motion is so close to the blow one I"ve rolled into enemies that I want to blow out or rolled of a cliff trying to get and item by blowing a candle more than once.  I don't like motion controls on a platformer unless they are seamless and well thought out (see the mario games).

[Mikezilla]

Being a master platformer sounds like its sucks, I'd rather have fun. You kinda sound like the guys who hit 100% notes on expert on guitar hero......too much like work for my tastes.

You misunderstand..... I don't WORK at being good at platofrming games, I just am.  I'm naturally good at them.  I have no drive for perfection, it's just that most platformers (and I mean that in the truest sense of the word... games like castlevania and metroid don't really count because they are primarily weapon-based with platforming being secondary) are really easy to the point of where I never die normally.

Youre so humble about it too. 

[extendedplayarcade]

I made a trailer for the kong off on this thread if you are intersted.  The new game does look awesome and would get it but I can't seem to stop playing Black Ops


Here is the link to the thread http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=108430.0

Is anyone playing donkey Kong country returns? I'm having a great time with this game. I'm really loving the level designs although some of them are a bit frustrating but that's to be expected with a dkc game. Interacting with  the foreground and background is a nice touch . The mine carts and rocket barrels are fun as hell to. The graphics look fantastic and do a good job immersing you in the different enviorments. I  I would give it a 10/10. This is one of the best 2D platformers I've ever played.

[hypernova]

We've been playing DKCR at work.  The level design on this game is just great fun.  They're always throwing new things at you.  I had the first two worlds at home completely done, but bricked the Wii and had to go to an old NAND that didn't have the save on it.  We're up to the Cliffs right now (world 5 or 6).

[DaveMMR]

I finally sat down to play DKCR and got up to World 3 thus far (playtime is not often).   A few thoughts:

• Love the graphics.  I think it's a gorgeous game full of rich detail, especially sunset levels with the silhouettes.
• Hate the "waggle".  We have a classic controller available to use, why must shaking the Wii remote substitute a button press?   My arm hurts after a frantic play through and sometimes I take unnecessary hits or drops because I roll when I didn't want to.
• I'm on the fence with the difficulty.   I love a good challenge but there are times I feel like there's a designer somewhere laughing sadistically with those "one-hit kill" parts with no checkpoink nearby.

But all-in-all, I'm loving it.   I think this is one of the truly great games of recent memory.  I'm glad publishers are embracing traditional 2D (or 2-1/2D) gaming again....

[Mikezilla]

I finally sat down to play DKCR and got up to World 3 thus far (playtime is not often).   A few thoughts:

• Love the graphics.  I think it's a gorgeous game full of rich detail, especially sunset levels with the silhouettes.
• Hate the "waggle".  We have a classic controller available to use, why must shaking the Wii remote substitute a button press?   My arm hurts after a frantic play through and sometimes I take unnecessary hits or drops because I roll when I didn't want to.
• I'm on the fence with the difficulty.   I love a good challenge but there are times I feel like there's a designer somewhere laughing sadistically with those "one-hit kill" parts with no checkpoink nearby.

But all-in-all, I'm loving it.   I think this is one of the truly great games of recent memory.  I'm glad publishers are embracing traditional 2D (or 2-1/2D) gaming again....

Yeah Im with you on the point about the sadistic designer and some of the levels. There was a level on world 5 where you have to press A in the rocket barrel in order to go up and down, one death no checkpoint, I thought I was going to throw the game out the damn window. Overall though, amazing game.

[DaveMMR]

You now scared me from playing any further.   

But then again, this was basically how 95% of all Nintendo games used to be.   I guess we should be lucky we're allowed to save and continue.

[hypernova]

I'm actually thankful for the increased difficulty.  After all the recent Mario games that allow you to pile up extra lives like it's a joke, this is a breath of fresh air, even though extra lives are still very easy to come by, whether by purchasing through coins or by getting a DK barrel at the end with 15 lives.  With that said, I'm not having too much difficulty with most of these levels.

The flying rocket barrels are rather fun.  (You can hold the button, rather than tap frenetically like I initially thought the first two times I tried it.)  Like I said before, I love how they keep throwing new things at you, rather than it feeling like your just playing the same levels over and over.  Beware the level that gives you a few seconds to hit the barrel at the end.  Caught my buddy by surprise.  Downright hilarious, though!!

[Mikezilla]

I'm actually thankful for the increased difficulty.  After all the recent Mario games that allow you to pile up extra lives like it's a joke, this is a breath of fresh air, even though extra lives are still very easy to come by, whether by purchasing through coins or by getting a DK barrel at the end with 15 lives.  With that said, I'm not having too much difficulty with most of these levels.

The flying rocket barrels are rather fun.  (You can hold the button, rather than tap frenetically like I initially thought the first two times I tried it.)  Like I said before, I love how they keep throwing new things at you, rather than it feeling like your just playing the same levels over and over.  Beware the level that gives you a few seconds to hit the barrel at the end.  Caught my buddy by surprise.  Downright hilarious, though!!

haha I know what youre talking abour regarding the barrel at the end. I almost ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- myself cause my sister was screaming "look out!!" and I was like "WHAT?!?!!?" and I just hit it 

[hypernova]

My buddy died.  Laughed ---my bottom--- off at the event!

[Mikezilla]

Lol that sucks that he died, that was a hard ass level!

[Howard_Casto]

 I'm still not sure if I love this game or hate it.  It's definately challenging, but unfortunately, much like the 16 bit original, some of the challenge comes from questionable game design.  Many times I've died because I have trouble determining what parts of the stage are in the foreground, what's in the background and if I can interact with objects or not.  I was in one stage frantically trying to avoid cacti until I accidentally landed on one and realized that it was that stages version of the big flower.  Stuff like that is annoying.  Also retro seems to like to try out ideas but only use them in a single stage.  Most stages are essentially the same and then BAM!  Some new gameplay element is introduced but it will be used in that stage only.  Retro also seems to be following the dragon's lair gameplay mechanic.  By that I mean in many stages (particularly vehicle stages) the only way to figure out what you are supposed to do is die several times trying things out.

They'll also throw some new gameplay mechanic at you without warning as well.  There's one minecart level where you finally think you are done and they land you on top of a rolling egg!  If you manage to process what just happened and jump over the bad-guy that's immediately in front of you the egg starts falling apart, you fall inside the egg and now you are dodging rocks and trying to stay inside the damn thing!  The level would be infinately easier if at some point in the game or in the level you would have experienced something similar so you would know what the heck you are supposed to do.  Again they'll just throw that mechanic out now... it'll only be used in that level.  Seems kind of wasteful to me.  There's this really awesome factory level, for example where all the characters and sprite become a black silouette except for diddy's red hat and dk's tie al-la "the spirit".  Beautiful treatment, but it's only used for a single level.

Btw... anybody else cuaght on to the fact that they are mining phazon (from metroid prime) in the mines?


All that being said, I'm still playing it, so they must have done something right.